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With Daniel Lippman
BUSINESS GROUPS CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED BY CDC MASK GUIDANCE: The Biden administration’s announcement Thursday that fully vaccinated Americans can ditch their masks in most situations is undoubtedly a major milestone in the country’s fight against Covid-19. But trade groups representing the businesses, and a union representing the workers who will now be tasked with enforcing mask-wearing for unvaccinated people, are now scrambling to parse what the guidance means for their members.
Larry Lynch, who as senior vice president of science and industry for the National Restaurant Association handles its Covid operating guidance, said in an interview that the new recommendations may be the industry’s biggest challenge yet. “We don t know how to be the vaccine police,” he said. “CDC didn t do us didn t do the industry, any big favors,” he added, though “it certainly helped consumers.”
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Bloated COVID Relief Package Misses Mark
Source: Life Science Leader
By John McManus, president and founder, The McManus Group
Dear reader, it has been my pleasure to write a monthly column for Life Science Leader for the past seven years, and this is my final column. Hopefully, it has provided insight into the “sausage-making” process of Washington that produces public policy impacting the life sciences sector.
One thing you may have concluded from my observations is that hyperbole and populist rhetoric on both sides of the aisle too often outweigh data and objective analysis. But that’s the unfortunate current nature of politics. Inflaming and channeling public outrage for personal or partisan political advancement can result in serious, untoward collateral damage that adversely impacts the very patients that politicians purport to be assisting.
New Swipes At Rx Industry Despite Stable Costs
Source: Life Science Leader
By John McManus, president and founder, The McManus Group
On the last full day of President Trump’s tumultuous presidency, CMS released a proposal to dramatically restrict access to Part D drugs for patients with serious medical conditions.
Effective in 2022, the “Part D Payment Modernization Model” will permit Part D and Medicare Advantage plans to change therapy for patients stabilized on anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, antidepressants, antineoplastic, and antipsychotics. The change would apply to HIV/AIDS medications in the following year. In addition, the proposal allows plans to restrict formularies to just one drug per therapeutic class, instead of the two drugs per class, as has been the case since Part D was enacted.